The present invention relates to an architecture for the delivery of video content responsive to remote interaction. In particular, the present invention is related to communicating a succession of video frames to a device in an interactive manner.
Client-server architectures are used in various contexts in many different types of network environments. In some network environments, bandwidth limitations comprise one of the chief limiting factors in utilizing a client-server architecture. Such bandwidth-constrained environments may occur in both wired and wireless networks, including combinations/hybrids of such networks. Taking the example of a wireless network, client devices may additionally be resource-constrained with respect to device capabilities, including, for instance, processing power, memory and power (i.e., battery) limitations. End-user applications that consume relatively large amounts of bandwidth and processing power, such as web browser applications, may provide unsatisfactory user experiences when run on a mobile client device. These unsatisfactory user experiences often result from a poor ability to provide the fast-paced interactivity expected of web browsing sessions. Many mobile client devices, such as cellular phones, may not be capable of adequately supporting full-featured versions of such applications.
Compounding this, websites are continually becoming more feature-rich, and increasingly make use of various ancillary software (such as animation plugins), which are not supported on many mobile client devices. Video transmission of content to many mobile client devices also often provides an unsatisfactory user experience due to bandwidth limitations and the inability of existing client-server architectures to adequately adjust to this limitation. There exists a need to support a full-featured web browsing experience on a diverse cross-section of bandwidth and capability-limited mobile devices, as well as to support the use of other applications on these same devices. Embodiments of this invention will address other needs as well.